Thursday, December 24, 2009

Out With The Old?

So, when is using the treasured (if somewhat broken) items and traditions a joy -- and when is it time to retire them? -- Anonymous

Oh, boy, that's a tough one. I had--note the use of the past tense--a small box of Christmas ornaments that I hauled out year after year, even though they were not strictly recognizable as "ornaments" by anyone other than myself. We're talking shards of glass barely hanging onto rusted wires. These things were dangerous. But they were OLD and they were FAMILY and they'd hung on MY tree or my PARENTS' tree or my GRANDPARENTS' TREE for millenium, and who was I to break the tradition?At this time last year, the second Christmas after my mom's death, I sat with that box of broken ornaments on my lap for a long time and asked that question very, very seriously. Who was I to break the tradition of having old, broken things hanging on the Christmas tree? I cried, I held each ornament, I tried to remember who each one had belonged to. I sat very still and tried to get in touch with how I would feel if I never, ever saw each particular ornament again. My meditative state was interrupted repeatedly by The Kitten, who really does not respect such introspective states in anyone other than himself. His persistence reminded me that life is here, now, and demands to be paid attention to. Also, that sometimes I take things too seriously.

Because of The Kitten's help, I threw away most of the ornaments. I threw away the shards, and the shreds, and the shattered pieces of colored glass. Then I hung the two remaining ornaments on the tree. And as I did so, I could swear I felt about 900 pounds lifting from my shoulders. I think that's the way to make the decision: If you retire the tradition or the ornament or the battered but beloved table linens, will you feel lighter? Or will you feel miserable? Will the positive effects outweigh any negative effects that might be imposed on other people? Ultimately, no one can answer that but you. And maybe Your Kitten.

What I'm Reading Right Now (or recently finished)

The Song of the Quarkbeast, by Jasper Fforde. Thanks to the glories of Powell's book buying department, I usually have credit to use in the vast aisles of Powell's bookstore. A recent wander through the downtown store while waiting for swim team practice to finish yielded an armload of books, most of them YA fantasy (one of my guilty pleasure genres). I'll be reading this one in conjunction with the Bill Bryson book, because I just can't read one book at a time.

Discover, January/February 2014. Lucky me! With the oldest girl on the other coast at university, I get her copies of both Runner's World and Discovery. This issue proclaims itself to be THE YEAR IN SCIENCE and includes 100 top stories from 2013. If you couldn't get enough about the discovery of Richard III's bones in a Leicester parking lot or learning how to conquer your cat allergy, grab this issue.

Murder with Peacocks, by Donna Andrews. Just finished this decent mystery. If you like wacky families, misunderstandings, a small bit of romance, not-too-threatening murderers, and humorous aggravation, this first book in a series is probably for you.

At Home, A Short History of Private Life, by Bill Bryson. Those of you who know Bill Bryson know that he doesn't write anything "short" -- with the exception of his book on Shakespeare. I'm just starting this intriguing book, in which he wanders around his home (a Victorian parsonage somewhere in England) looking at doorknobs and spices and commodes and then tells us about them. I'm on page 20, so I have like 450 pages to go. Could I get a bad cold, please, and be forced to lie on the couch and read this?